See Clearly Eye Method

The See Clearly Method consists of eye-based exercises. The claim made by the creators of the See Clearly Method is that your eyes must be exercised just like any muscle and that a person who consistently does the correct eye exercises can improve his vision without glasses, contact lenses or surgeries such as LASIK. The effectiveness of these exercises and the See Clearly Method in general have been strongly disputed by eye-care professionals, and no formal studies of the method have been done. The See Clearly Method was forced from the market in 2006 due to legal action.

History

• The See Clearly Method was first developed by four people who created the American Vision Institute. The group consisted of optometrists Merrill J. Allen and David W. Muris as well as psychologist Francis A. Young and nuclear chemist Steven Beresford. They authored a book in 1996 about eye exercises and how people could use them to improve their vision.
  The See Clearly Method was based on the information in that book and was heavily advertised between 2001 and 2006. Iowa business owner Cliff Rose and attorney David Sykes helped bring the product to fruition and market it. The American Vision Institute tried to publish a paper on its See Clearly Method in two popular optometry journals but were turned down and self-published the paper on its Web site.

Function

• The See Clearly Method is designed to retrain and exercise the eyes with the claim that the patient's vision will improve. The creators of the method even claimed that some people are able to rid themselves of their glasses or contact lenses, avoid surgery, and have their eyes return to 20/20 vision after using the See Clearly Method. The idea behind it is based on the Bates Method, which has been discredited.

Types

• Different exercises are suggested in the method, including "tromboning," which is holding a small object at specific distances from the eyes and practicing breathing techniques as the object is moved, and "blur reading," which involves holding a magazine at a distance that made the words unclear, turning it upside down, and then running one's gaze around it to find any letters that are recognizable. Other eye exercises as well as personal, positive affirmations, light therapy and acupressure for the muscles near the eye are also suggested in the See Clearly Method.

Legal Difficulties

• Many people tried the See Clearly Method without success, and the company that sold it, Vision Improvement Technologies--an offshoot company of the American Vision Institute--was the subject of a fraud lawsuit by the Attorney General of Iowa. Some of the company's marketing was restricted due to that lawsuit, and in 2006 the company agreed to stop selling the See Clearly Method, provide restitution to any customers who desire it and purge any filings related to purchases of the See Clearly Method from customer's credit records. The program was then available for free on the See Clearly Method Web site, which is now defunct. The method is still available, however, through other sites such as eBay.
  Following the removal of the See Clearly Method from the market, the American Vision Institute started a new website (www.visiontherapy.net) to provide a program that is essentially the See Clearly Method called the Power Vision Program. The program is free, and although the company cites research on eye exercises to validate the Power Vision Program, no research specifically address its own program.

Considerations

• The See Clearly Method should not be considered as a replacement for glasses or contact lenses, nor should it be considered as a better alternative than surgery for vision correction. Now that the method is free it can be tried without harm to the wallet, and there is no evidence linking the See Clearly Method to any harm involving the muscles surrounding the eye, the eye itself or a person's vision. Before you try any type of program for exercise (of any specific part of the body), it is best to consult a doctor who is knowledgeable in that field. An eye doctor can help you determine whether the See Clearly Method may have any benefit and whether it is the right choice for you.